Fate of the Forest (A KaoEarth Story)

Two: Earth

《Author Note: Hey guys! Here's the next part! I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants so everything is pretty rough. I always appreciate feedback so leave me your thoughts or suggestions! Enjoy!! ♡》

Earth felt him before he saw him. He always felt it when Kao came to the forest. It was as of the forest itself came alive when Kao was there. But maybe that was because of Earth's connection with the forest and that Kao made him feel alive. He couldn't explain it but he had felt this way for a long time.

When Kao was a child, they used to play together among the trees, but eventually Kao stopped coming to play. Kao never stopped coming to the forest, but he had grown up and that's when Earth knew he needed to take a step back. It would be much easier for Kao to accept an imaginary friend in his childhood memories than a forest spirit who never aged. But Earth never stopped watching over Kao and as the years went by, Kao always came back to the forest...and Earth would fall in love with him all over again.

"Is it him? Has he returned?"

Earth rolled his eyes at the chin that suddenly showed up peeking over his shoulder where Earth was silently watching Kao.

"Yes, it's him." Earth turned to face his friend, Fluke, who was the water spirit of the forest.

Fluke flashed a toothy grin.
"Then you should meet him! I tell you that every time he comes but you never go to him," Fluke said, pouting.

Earth looked longingly back at Kao.
"You know I can't do that. It would go against everything we know."

"But you love him, don't you?"

Earth blushed. "Yes, but it would be impossible for him to love me back."

"Nothing is impossible," said a deep voice coming up behind Fluke. Earth was wondering when he would show up. "Just look at us," the tall boy smiled, resting his hands on Fluke's shoulders and Fluke gazed lovingly back up at him.

Wherever Fluke was, Earth knew Ohm wouldn't be far behind and vice versa. They were inseparable. But thinking of them gave Earth a glimmer of hope; an impossible love made possible. It was impossible for a water spirit to love a fire spirit, but Fluke and Ohm made it possible. Despite all the hardships, because fire and water don't go together, Ohm and Fluke loved each other more fiercely than anyone Earth had ever seen and it inspired him.

It inspired him to believe that maybe one day, his impossible love could be made possible. And it made him brave.

"Ai Fluke, can you help me?"

Fluke flashed a mischievous grin.
"Already on it," Fluke looked at Ohm, who nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. Intertwining their fingers on their right hands together, Ohm and Fluke waved their hands in a wide arch in front of them and soon a light mist started to form around them.

Earth giggled silently as he watched Kao walk in circles, disoriented by Fluke and Ohm's fog. Then he had an idea.

"I want to show him the Meadow," he told Fluke.

"Are you sure?"

Earth nodded confidently, never more sure of anything in his life. The Meadow was their home and Earth wanted to share it with the one he loved.

Together, Earth, Ohm, and Fluke took down the barriers that concealed the Meadow from mortals and almost immediately, Kao heard the waterfall. Earth knew Kao would want to investigate and he could hardly contain his happiness when Kao discovered his hydrangeas; the ones he grew because they were Kao's favorite. Earth watched in anticipation as Kao explored the little Meadow, taking in as much as he could. Earth knew Kao was smart and knew exactly what he was trying to do when Kao started to scale the cliff next to the waterfall. Going for higher ground.

What Earth didn't know was that Kao's handhold was going to break away from the dirt.

"P'Kao!" He cried as he watched in slow motion as Kao fell to the forest floor.
Without thinking, Earth lunged forward from where he was hidden and fell to his knees next to Kao, searching his body for any injuries.

"P'Kao! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Kao just stared back at Earth, unmoving. It pained him to think that it was his fault if Kao was hurt. "Can you move at all? Say something, P'Kao!"

Kao started to sit up and Earth felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over him. He was alright. A little stunned, but fine.
As Earth gave his introduction, he felt a longing need to touch Kao. He had waited all these years...

Earth gently placed his hand on Kao's arm...and almost immediately regretted it. The emotions that ran through him were almost too much to bear. But he did a good job of covering his emotions with a beaming smile when Kao told him he always thought Earth was his childhood imaginary friend.

He knew it was a lot to process in the moment and he would eventually explain how he was old enough to be the same person Kao played with as a child, but Earth frowned at the small cut on Kao's forehead and he knew that was a priority.

Earth stood up and pulled Kao to his feet, letting his hand linger in Kao's a little longer than necessary. He may have been breaking a hundred different rules, but Earth didn't care. Actually, Elementals didn't really have a specific set of rules for interacting with humans; more like an unspoken set of guidelines. Most Elementals knew that mortals wouldn't be able to process the thought of an immortal spirit who can control the elements so they didn't even bother, but Earth knew that Kao was smart and open-minded.

And the look he saw in Kao's eyes as he followed him gave Earth a shimmer of hope because he recognized it as the same look he had watching Kao for all these years.